FINAL BILL REPORT

SHB 2366

PARTIAL VETO

C 358 L 02

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Funding and authorizing expenditures of the secretary of state.

Sponsors:  By House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Ogden, Woods, Romero, Skinner and Chase; by request of Secretary of State).

House Committee on State Government

House Committee on Appropriations

Senate Committee on State & Local Government

Background:

Among the many programs under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State are the Division of Archives and Records Management and the Oral History Program.  The State Archivist is responsible for the preservation and destruction of public records.  The purpose of the Oral History Program is to record and document oral histories of current and former members and staff of the Washington Legislature, current and former state government officials and personnel, and other citizens that have had an active role in Washington's political history.

In 1996 a law was passed authorizing the Secretary of State to accept gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, etc., to expend any proceeds realized from these gifts, except as limited by the donor's terms, and to adopt rules to govern and protect the receipt and expenditure of the proceeds.

A variety of statutory provisions relating to ethics in public service were enacted in the 1994 Ethics in Public Service Act, including restrictions on mailings by legislators and limitations on gifts for state officials and employees.  Public officials or an employee acting on the official's behalf may not solicit or accept contributions to public office funds during specified periods.  The Legislative Ethics Board and the Executive Ethics Board enforce these provisions.

Summary:

The Secretary of State may solicit gifts, grants, conveyances, bequests, and devises, of real or personal property, in trust or otherwise.  Solicitation and receipt of gifts are limited solely for the purposes of: (1) conducting oral histories; (2) archival activities; and (3) international trade hosting and missions.  Receipts from gifts must be deposited in the Secretary of State's revolving account, and expenditures from the account are managed by the Secretary of State and do not require legislative appropriation.

Explicit authority is added for the Secretary of State to fund oral history activities and for the State Archivist to solicit, accept, and expend donations for the archive program.

Persons soliciting or accepting contributions for the Secretary of State's revolving account are exempt from the prohibition on soliciting or accepting contributions during the period that begins 30 days before and ends 30 days after a regular legislative session, or during a special session, and are not considered to be in violation of the Ethics in Public Service Act.

Votes on Final Passage:

House980

Senate444

Effective:  June 13, 2002

Partial Veto Summary: The Governor vetoed the sections of the bill pertaining to soliciting and expending donated funds for international trade hosting and missions and creating an oral history, archives, and international trade account in the custody of the state treasurer.  The related amendments to the Ethics in Public Service Act were also vetoed.  (The bill, as signed, allows the Secretary of State to expend funds from donations for oral history activities and authorizes the state archivist to solicit, accept, and expend donations for the purposes of the archive program.)